"Chaotic" weather threatens Bordeaux vineyards
Growers in Bordeaux have resorted to exceptional measures to protect their vines from “chaotic” weather conditions, the CIVB has reported.
The region’s weather has swung back and forth between warm and sunny days, during which temperatures have risen above 17°C – some seven degrees above seasonal norms for the past three decades – and sub-zero temperatures with periods of snow and frost.
The vines are particularly vulnerable this year with bud burst some 15 days ahead of schedule thanks to a mild winter.
Some buds are still at the cotton stage, while on others the first leaves have already appeared.
Growers have used a range of methods to mitigate the frost damage, ranging from heating the ambient air using anti-frost towers, wind machines and paraffin candles to the use of fires, requiring contant monitoring through the night.
Most growers have saved their crops, the CIVB said.
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